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Five records on Day Three of the 2004 ING Olympic Oval Finale

The 2004 ING Olympic Oval Finale long track speed skating competition was thrilling today! Marathon skater Henk Angenent from the Netherlands successfully broke the one hour distance World Record by skating 41,669.79m. Fellow Dutch skater Ireen Wuust gained her second and third Junior World Records today - one in the 3000m with a time of 4:08. 64 and another for total points. She skated a Junior World Record in the 1500m yesterday with a time of 1:58.10. Dutch skater Sven Kramer skated the 5000m with a time of 6:28.45 to set a Junior World Record. There was yet another remarkable skate when Denny Morrison finished the 1500m in 1:47.79 to match his brother Jay’s Canadian Junior Record.

Angenent’s distance eclipsed the previous record set by Italian skater Roberto Sighel at the Oval on March 24, 1999 and the total distance was 41,040.545m. Angenent averaged 42 kim/hour, and completed 104 laps around the Oval’s track. One of the top ranked marathon skaters in the world, Angenent won the famous eleven city marathon in 1997 in the Netherlands. This 200 kilometre marathon has not been held since then because of mild weather. Last month in Austria, Angenent won the alternate eleven city tour in Austria.

In the women’s All Round Short 3000m event, it was a Dutch sweep as Tessa vanDyk (NED) was second (4:16.77) after teammate Wuust, and Myrke Mulder was third (4:23.44). In the 1000m, Wuust was first with a time of 1:16.74, and teammate vanDyk was second (1:18.91). Ontario’s Christine Nesbitt, who trains at the Olympic Oval, was third with a new personal best time of 1:19.39.

In the men’s All Round Short 1500m races, Dutch skater Tom Prinsen was first (1:47.70), and National Development Team member Denny Morrison was second with his Canadian Junior Record. Japan’s Kazuaki Kobayashi was third (1:48.45) and 2004 Junior World Champion and National Development Team member Justin Warsylewicz was fourth with a personal best time of 1:48.48. In the 5000m, Kramer’s Junior World Record time placed him first and eclipsed the previous record set by Prinsen last year. Warsylewicz was second with a personal best time of 6:30.89, and Prinsen was third (6:31.75).

In the exciting 100m dash preliminaries, China’s Xin Zhao and Japan’s Junko Osuga tied for first on the women’s side with a time of 10.57. Kimiko Nurui (JPN) was third with a time of 10.71. On the men’s side, Japan’s Akio Ota was first with a 9.67, China’s Yu Li was second with 9.70 and Kodai Matsuhashi was third (9.78). Finals for this distance will be held on Sunday. Eva Rodansky (USA) was only one entry in the grueling women’s 10,000m event, and she finished the race with a personal best time of 16:17.95.

Saturday and Sunday will feature the exciting Sprint competition, the 100m dash, team pursuits and the Ceili’s marathon events. Races begin at 9:00am and admission is FREE.

Racing times for particular athletes will also be available each day by calling Sharon at 403-220-5190 or Anne at 403-220-8158. For complete results, please visit www.oval.ucalgary.ca